Grapnel for boring-tubes.



PATENTED SEPT. l0, 1907.

J. BIENPAIT. GRAPNEL FOR BORING TUBES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1907.

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wvenlm, JQHN EMENFPUT,

Ottawa).

JOHN BIENFAIT, OF THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS.

GRAPNEL FOR BORING-TUBES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 10, 1907.

Application tiled May 14,1907. Serial No. 373,601.

Toiall whom it may concern:

Be it known that I', JOHN BIENFAIT, engineer, a subject of the Queen ofthe Netherlands, residing at ThetV Hague, Kingdom of the Netherlands,van Lennepweg No. l, have invented Vcerta-in new and useful Improvementsin or Relating to Grapnels yfor Boring-Tubes', of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to appliances, known as crabs orA grapnels(hereinafter called grapnels) employed in well sinking and the like, forwithdrawing the usual boring tubes, and the object of the invention isto provide devices adapted to prevent such appliances from remainingstuck in the boringtubes.

The many appliances heretofore proposed and employed for bringing theused boring tubes to the surface again are all subject to thedisadvantage that under some circumstances the grapnels get stuck in theboring tubes and cannot be removed so that the bore hole becomes stoppedup or choked.

According to the present invention the grapnels are so constructed thatwhile capable of being jammed hard and fast against the walls of thetubes a never failing and rapid release of the jamming action or of thegrapnel is always insured.

According to this invention the freely suspended jaws of the grapnel,after the sinking of the recovering rod which carries them and on thesubsequent rapid raisingor jerking-of such rod, are moved apart by aconical wedge piece so that the jaws grip the inner wall of the boringtube. For the purpose of subsequently rem ving the wedge piece away frombetween the jaws it is unscrewed therefrom by rotating the rod, moveddown the rod in any suitable manner, and caught up as by a collar orhead on the rod. The` gripping ends of lthe jaws can now approach eachother and the grapnel v pended on a rotary sleeve nut while beingraisedThe improved appliance is/particula/rly simple in its construction. j "4Figui-esl, :Zand 3 of the accompanying illustrative drawings show oneconstruction of the improved appliance in section in different positionsin a boring tube: Fig. 4 is a side view thereof, and Fig. 5 is a'sectioncorresponding to the line 1 1 of Fig. 4 looking in .the direction oi thearrow.

The pull rod a is attached to the recovery rodin the usual way and isprovided at its upper end with a collar b and intermediate between itstwo ends, is formed with a screw threaded portion c. To the lower end ofthe pull rod is screwed a head d. Below the collar b is a carrier ring ewhich is arranged to slide up and down upon the rod and upon which arehinged links f. Suspended by hinge pins from the links fare fourjaws Ig.which are toothed on their outer faces to grip a tube. Each jaw g issuspended from two linksf. The face or toothed portion of the jaw iscircular and at their lower ends the inner [ace of each jaw isslightlytperedgSW/fl,l

"Immediately under the points where the jaws are pivoted to the linkstooth shaped projections h are formed on the inner aceot the jaws. Aninternally threaded conical wedge piece 'i of quadrangular section andformed near its lower end a shoulder j is screwed on to the screwthreaded portion c of the pull rod a. Upon the wedge piece t' rests aquadrangularnut l formed at the top with a sunk edge k and which isscrew threaded similar to the wedge piece, Fig. 1, although as will beseen this screw thread docs not extend right up to the top edge. of thenut.-

The boring tube shown is marked m.

The operation of the improved appliance is as followst-In Fig. 1 thegrapnel is supposed to be in the desired position in the boring tube. Ascan be seen, in this position, the q uadrangular'wedge piece t' isscrewed onto the portion c of the pull rod a and the quadrangular nut lrestsiree upon the wedge piece i; the carrier ring c is in contact withthe collar b and the various parts are so constructed that the jaws,which lic freely against the inner wall of the tube m are also incontact at their ends with the four sides of the wedge piece 'L'. Itwill be seen that in this condition the grapnel can be freely introducedinto the boring tube m the head d flattening any small inwardlyprojection dented portion o1' the tube wall according to circumstances.When'the grapnel has been lowered to the desired depth the recovery rodis pulled upwardly with considerable force as by a block and tackle andthe wedge piece t' is thereby drawn up between the jaws g so causingthem to expand, Fig. 2. Owing to their internal conical-n pe and theirmovable suspensiorrtls expanding movement isganparallel one whereby theteeth penetrate with 'i'oe/into the wall of the boring tube over theentire length of the toothed part of the jaws and almost overthe entirecircumference of the tube at that part.

'i being drawn too lhigh and so limits the expansion of the jaws, Fig.2, that the wall of the tube cannot be bent out too much or torn. As canbe seen the tube can now be lifted in a suitable and usual way. Shouldit happen that the tubes remain ltoo firmly fixed then the particularpart` thereof is abandoned and cut off. In this case however the grapnelmust be previously removed from the tube. This is accomplished by firstdiscon-. necting the pull rod from the wedge piece t' and then screwingits threaded portion c into lthe quadrangular nut Z. When usingrecovering rods withright handed screw threads `for the connectingsleeves the screw thread at c must be correspondingly left handed andvice versa. The rod is rotated to the right until the screw thread at cis completely screwed into the nut l and the sunk edge k strikes thetooth shaped projections h of' the jaws.- The wedge piece t' is thenmoved clear The shoulder j of the wedge pieect prevents the wedge pieceof the jaws by allowing the whole weight of the recovering rod to restupon the pull rod or by giving heavy blows to the'recovering rod. Theseblows are transmitiied directly through the quadrangular nut l to thewedge piece so as to release it, after which the wedge piecefalls downonto the head d. The jawsi are consequently released andthe fourprojections h become firmly engaged in the sunk edge c o thequadrangular uut thus insuring a rigid connection of the carrier bars fand'of the jawsg. T e grapnel, which then hangs from the quadrangularnut Z, can now be very easilyY withdrawn fromA the tube m, (Fig. 3)without running the risk of the bm f being broken or turned off.

The arrangement-offers the following advantages:- 1. The grapnels can bedisconnected and drawn upat any time. 2. When drawing up the grapnelafter disconnecting the wedge piece i it remains hanging by the Y tootlshaped projections h. 3. Owing to there being two inges or pivot pointsthe jaws always remain in their vertical position and therefore bearupon the boring tube over their whole length of jaw proper. 4. One andthe same appliance can be used for different diameters of tubes bychanging the jaws and theheads. 5. When the appliance is inserted in atube the head screwed on the lower end of the rod will bend out again orHatten any slightly dented in places on the tubes.

What 'I claim iszff/15in grapiels'frhingnhpull rod formedwith" a lscrewthreaded portion, a carrier mounted to slide on said rod, gripping jawssuspended from said carrier, a wedge piece adapted to be screwed on thethreaded portion of said rod and to expand said jaws, and a nut on vsaid rod above said wedge piece adaptedwto be screwed on said rod and toengage said jaws, substantially as set forth. Y

2. 111 grapnels for boring tubes. a pull rod formed with a screwthreaded portion, a carrier mounted to slide .on "said rod, grippingjaws suspended from said carrieig( a wedge piece adapted to be screwedon the threaded portion of said rod and to expand said jaws, a collar onsaid rod that bears on said carrier when the lower ends of said jawsengage the narrow end of said wedge piece if screwed on thethreadedportion of said rod. and a nut on said rod above said wedge pieceadapted to be screwed on said rod and to engage saidhjaws',ISubstantially as set forth.

3. In grapnels for boring tubes, a pull rod formed with a screw threadedportion, a carrier mounted to slide on said rod, gripping jaws suspendedfrom said carrier, a wedge piece adapted to be screwed on the threadedpor- `tion of said rod and to expand said jaws, a head on said rod belowsaid wedge adapted to fiatten out inwardly dented portions of a boringtube, anda nut on said rod above said wedge piece adapted to be screwedon said rodA and to engage said jaws, substantially as set forth.

4. In grapnels for boring tubes, a pull rod formed with a screw threadedportion, a carrier mounted to slide on said rod, links pivoted to saidcarrier, gripping jaws, pivoted to said links, a Wedge piece adapted tobe screwed on-the threaded portion of said rod and to expand said jaws,and a nut on said rod above said wedge piece adapted to be screwed onsaid rod and to engage said jaws. substantially as set forth.

In grapnels for boring tubes, a pull rod formed with a screw threadedportion, a carrier mounted to slide on said rod, links pvoted to saidcarrier, gripping jaws each formed at its lower endl with an inclinedface at its inner `side pivoted to said links, a wedge piece adapted tobe `a screw threaded portion, a carrier mounted to slide on .a screwthreaded portion, a collar fifed on said rod, a

screwed on the threaded portion of said rod andsto coperate with theinclined inner faces of said jaws, and a -nut on said rod above saidwedge piece adapted tobe screwed on said rod and to engage said jaws,substantially as set forth.

6. In grapnels for boring tubes, a pull rod formed with said rod,gripping jaws suspended from said carrier, a wedge piece adapted to bescrewed on the threaded portion of said rod and to expand said jaws, ashoulder near the lower end of said wedge piece adapted to form a stopfor theY lower ends of slaidjaws, and a nut on said rod above said wedgepiece adapted to he screwed-on said rod and to 8() engage said jaws,substantially as set forth.

a screw Vthread@ portion, aV carrier monntedto slide on said rod,gripping jaws suspended from said carrier, projections on said jaws, awedge piece adapted to be screwed on the threaded portion of said rodandto expand said jaws, and a nut on said rod above said wedge pieceadapted to be screwed on said rod and to engage said jaw projections,substantially as set forth.

In grapnelsfor boring tubes,.a pull rod formed with a screw threadedportion, a carrier mounted to slide on Asaid red, gripping jawssuspended from said carrier, proj ections on said jaws, a wedge pieceadapted to be screwed on the 'threaded portion of said rod and to expandsaid jaws, and a nut formed with an undercut upper edge on said rodabove said wedge piece adapted to be screwed' on said rod and the upperedge of which is adapted to vengage saidjaw projections, substantiallyas set forth.

9. In grapnels for boring tubes, a pul l rod formed with 100 carriermounted to slide on said rod below said collar, links pivotallysuspended from said carrier, tube gripping jaws pivotally suspended fromsaid links, tooth-like projections on said jaws, a wedge piece on saidrod adapted to be screwed on the screwed portion of said rod, and a nuton said rod the upper end of which is adapted to engage said jawprojections normally resting on the upper end of said wedge piece andadapted to engage the screw threaded portion of said rod as the saidwedge piece is unscrewedtherefrom, substantially as set forth.

10.4 In grapncls forfboring tubes, a pull rod formed with a screwthreaded portion, a collar I'lxed on said rod, a carrier mountedtojslide on said rod belowsaid collar, links pivotally suspended fromsaid carrier, four tube gripping jaws pivotally suspended from saidlinks, tooth-like projections on said jaws, a wedge piece ofquadrangular erossvsection mounted on said rod adapted 'to be screwed onthe screwed portion of said rod. and aquadrangular nut on said rod theupper end ofwhich is adapted to engage said jaw projections normallyresting on the upper end of said wedge piece and adapted to engage thescrew threaded portion of said rod as the said wedge piece isunscrewedtherefrom,substantially as set forth.

11. In grapnels for boring'tub'es, a pull rod, a carrier mounted toslide on said rod, jaws-pivotally suspended from said carrier, means ona screw threaded portion of said rod adapted to force said jawsoutwardly upon endwise movement of said rod, a nut located above saidjaw forcing means adaptediupon rotation of said rod in a direetiontorelease said jaw forcing means to itself engage the screw threadedportion of said pull rod, and tooth like projections on said jawsadapted to be engaged `by said nut when screwed on said rod.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set presence of two subscribingwitnesses.

JOHN BIENFAI'I.

Witnesses 'litoinis HERMANN VERHAVE, AUGUs'r Sinornmn Doesn.

my hand in l. ln grapnels for boring Jgnesawpvirllrod formedw'lvithf-J

